Holding a Healing Space
Sociotherapy
With a focus on creative expression and human connection, I provide therapeutic social work support to individuals and families experiencing trauma, bereavement and loss, isolation, emotional distress and family conflict. These are supported both in-person and online.
As a guardian ad litem and advisor for the family court service, I also provide support to parents and children engaged with the court service and regularly undertake socio-legal assessments for custody and access disputes.
Mental health recovery programmes for both individuals and groups are facilitated both online and in-person.
To request further information, please use the contact form to Get In Touch
All enquiries are strictly confidential.
What is Therapeutic Life Story Work?
Therapeutic Life Story Work is a guided intervention with children and adults designed to recognise the individual’s past, present and future.
Researchers and theorists believe that the storying process is very important in the development of a healthy sense of self.
For some adults and children, their life story can feel lost. This can happen for many different reasons, such as divorce, bereavement, overwhelming stress, mental health difficulties and weak familial communication patterns.
The process of identifying our life story, threading together important moments and experiences as well as identifying challenges we have overcome symbolically encourages us to develop a stronger sense of self. In the process, we learn to recognise our own abilities and unique qualities, leading to enhanced confidence, resilience and wellbeing.
As a co-produced narrative, therapeutic life story work incorporates a range of tools and activities to help us to explore our unique story.
Sessions with children can include arts and crafts as well as puppets and play people to help to explore and explain the events that have taken place in the young person’s life, while facilitating the exploration of thoughts and feelings.
The life-story work model is an interactive model of two systems: the self-system (physiological, emotional, and cognitive) and the external system (family, community and culture).
For further information, please complete the contact form. Thank you.
A Healing Collective
“Healing is not the same as curing. Healing does not take us back to what was before; rather, healing brings us closer to our true Self.” (unknown)
I have learned through practice as well as through personal experience how tapping into the creative potential that we all possess is hugely empowering. It puts us in touch with our essential nature. The creative journey informs my work and is central to my practice.
Creativity is our birthright. It is not a special talent limited to famous artists, writers and musicians. We are all creative. We are built to be. Exploring our creativity allows us to solve the challenges of pain and injury, including difficulties within our family relationships and social networks.
When we begin to respond creatively to our healing process, both individually and within our extended networks, our sense of purpose improves. We are creating new ways to do things, whether we know it or not. We are not powerless. The more we recognize and celebrate this “everyday creativity”, the more sense of satisfaction we can find.
Healing is an ongoing process. It involves all of our abilities. In the same way our bodies change, our lives too change.
Often we find ourselves trying to carry on as we battle injury and suffering; yet during these times, we may feel disengaged from life, which can lead to feelings of helplessness and powerlessness.
It is wonderful to watch the healing process in action, to see clients grow in confidence as they develop greater insight and inner strength. I love what I do, and I love seeing people benefit from therapeutic support and engagement.
Creativity brings greater colour to life’s canvas. It gives us permission to explore through art, words and nature, the path we would like to create for ourselves as we navigate our unique life journey.
I approach my work from a strengths-based perspective, supporting clients to realise their inner strength, resilience and potential.
Creativity is Healing
For more information about my work, please follow the links below.
I look forward to exploring your journey with you.
The greatest leverage for healing is found at the subtlest function – Rudolf Ballentine
A Letter to the Self
There is a beautiful shop in Tokyo, Japan that invites visitors to write a letter to their future selves
Collaging
How we explore and frame our experiences shapes our relationship with the world around us. Realising we have the ability to discover and imagine new ways of seeing and being is so freeing! Everything is in flux, and we are adventurers of story and tellers of tales. These images were taken this weekend at the…
The Reverie Tree 